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HTC working on tablet and wearable device, says CEO

09:01

NEW DELHI: Taiwanese handset giant HTC has reiterated that it is working on a new tablet and wearable products.

In an interview with The China Post on the sidelines of the company's flagship smartphone, HTC One (M8), HTC CEO Peter Chou confirmed that the company will launch the tablet and wearable computing products "at an appropriate time." He did not share any specific details related to these devices.

It is worth pointing out that HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang, had reportedly confirmed that the company's smartwatch will be ready for the holiday season. Speaking at a session during the Mobile World Congress 2014, she had said that HTC will focus on battery efficiency and that the watch will likely tether to a smartphone via Bluetooth. She had also hinted at a new tablet offering from the company which could hit the markets, later in the year.

There were also reports that Google had tapped HTC to manufacture the Nexus 8.9 tablet. The tablet is expected to go into mass production in July or August this year and may be launched in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Initial reactions to HTC's new flagship smartphone have been good and the company hopes that it will revive its fortunes. It is also banking on its Desire range of low-end smartphones to gain marketshare. He added that the company is changing its product strategy that and is outsourcing the production of some of its low-end phones to contract. Ailing device and services company BlackBerry followed a similar strategy for its BlackBerry 10 phones, outsourcing production to Foxconn or Hon Hai.

Chou said he hopes the company will gain 8 to 10% of the smartphone market 'in the long run.' Presently, HTC's share of the global smartphone market is less than 5%. According to smartphone shipments data offered by Gartner, Samsung leads the smartphones segment with a market share of 31%, followed by Apple which has a 15.6% share and Huawei and LG registering a market share of 4.8% each.

It will be a tough task for HTC to more than double its share as it faces tough competition from the likes of Samsung and Apple in the high-end segment, and Huawei and Lenovo in the economy-segment. HTC's last flagship smartphone, HTC One, received critical acclaim but did not achieve the level of success the company expected. Analysts blame an underwhelming marketing push for the company's woes.